A Confession Everyone Else Could See From a Mile Away

"Sasha…I…I love you!" Armin Arlert exclaimed with her eyes closed, fists clenched, body quaking, and sweat practically pouring from every pore. Sasha dropped the potato that she was eating in surprise, with Armin looking like he was prepping himself for either rejection or a punch to the face. Before Sasha could answer, voices began making their opinion known, causing Armin to snap his eyes open and quickly turn his head to the source of the voices.

"Hey, guys! Armin did it!"

"SEE! I told you!"

"The ONE time I want him to be a coward, and he decides to grow a set of balls!"

"Goddammit, Bertholdt, you were right!"

Armin and Sasha were aghast to see that pretty much everyone from their unit, including Armin's friends, Eren and Mikasa, Jean Kirstein, Reiner Braun, etc. either celebrating or complaining about Armin confessing his feelings towards Sasha.

"Woah, woah, woah! What are you guys doing!?" Sasha asked out, causing all the other soldiers to look towards her.

"We were all betting on when Armin was going to confess to you. Some of us said he would do it today, and everyone else said that Armin wasn't going to be the one to confess and that you would," Eren explained while going through the money he had just earned from Jean, a shit-eating grin on his face the entire time. Armin and Sasha looked around and saw that the other soldiers were also collecting their bets as well.

"Et tu, Connie!?" Sasha asked in shock and betrayal as he saw Connie collect money from Ymir, with a shit-eating grin similar to that of Eren's on his face. Connie simply shrugged before he began joining Eren in counting the money he had just received from an annoyed Ymir, who looked at Armin with an annoyed glare.

"You REALLY couldn't have waited until AFTER we went back out to find the Female Titan?" Ymir grumbled. Armin looked around with everyone talking about his confession, with Sasha uncharacteristically hiding her face behind her ponytail. Just as Armin felt like he was going to lose his mind, Levi Ackerman, Hange Zoe, Erwin Smith, and the rest of the Survey Corps came walking over, with confusion plastered over their faces.

"Alright, what's going on here? Why are you all here lollygagging and not training?" Levi asked, his eyes slit into a glare as he looked around. Before Armin could say anything, Eren intervened, showing off the money in his hand.

"Armin just confessed to Sasha, and we're just collecting our wagers," Eren said. Levi's eyes shot up, along with the rest of the Survey Corps soldiers as Hange and Erwin high-fived each other in response.

"Wait…don't tell me…"

"Dammit, guess I have to pay up," Levi mumbled to himself before digging into his pockets, and putting more money into Eren's hands. Hange poked Levi on the shoulder, motioning with her hands to pay up to her and Erwin, causing Levi to mumble some curses about the 'possible bed wetter' being able to confess to the girl of his dreams this soon.

"YOU GUYS BET ON US TOO!?" Armin yelled out in shock and annoyance.

"Yeah? Look, we had to have something to do while we're waiting for more Titans to show up. Plus, it's a fun way to make a little extra money," Hange explained, kissing the stack of money that Levi had handed her. While everyone else was talking about their bets, either in victory or with lament, Armin and Sasha walked away, with Armin grumbling in annoyance as Sasha looked equally embarrassed and irritated at their friends. When they were a respectable distance away, Sasha and Armin sat down on a log, with Armin rubbing Sasha's knuckles with his thumb.

"Sasha, I am SO sorry about this. I had no idea that…all of that would happen. I just wanted to be honest about how I felt about you," Armin explained. Sasha looked up at an embarrassed-looking Armin and smiled at him before leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek. Armin's face exploded into a red blush, steam coming out of his ears, and his blue eyes nearly rolling in the back of his head as Sasha couldn't help but laugh at Armin's over-the-top reaction.

"It's OK, Armin, I don't blame you for any of that. And before we were so rudely interrupted, I wanted to tell you that I feel the same way, and would love to be your girlfriend," Sasha explained, a wide smile forming on her face as Armin began to calm down and fully process what Sasha had just said. Armin looked at Sasha with a look that combined surprise with pure elation and responded by kissing her on the mouth, which Sasha quickly responded to by returning the kiss.

"OH, MY GOD! Guys, Armin and Sasha are kissing! You guys owe me another $500!" Eren exclaimed from the top of the mountain, causing Sasha and Armin to separate from each other's lips and glare up at Armin's childhood friend.

"OH COME ON!"